Young soccer team's battle against autism

HEFEI - In the city of Hefei, East China's Anhui province, there is a special soccer team: 22 players aged between 8 and 14 with no fixed positions, and no pressure to win.

The members have just one thing in common - they are all children with autism, which is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by varying degrees of impairment in communication skills and social interactions, and by restricted, repetitive patterns of behavior.

Dressed in a fluorescent soccer jersey, Aoao (pseudonym), 11, was running around the pitch, kicking a soccer ball with a volunteer he met for the first time. For many children, this is quite common, but for Aoao, who has autism, it's a big step forward.